* Willy Lebron came up with 3 great innings of relief to back up Vin Mazzaro as Omaha pruned its magic number for the PCL playoffs to 3. Jarrod Dyson tripled and scored on a David Lough sac fly in the 1st but Round Rock scored 2 in the 3rd and another in the 4th to take a 3-1 lead. Lorenzo Cain singled in a run and Clint Robinson hit a 2-run single in the 5th to flip the lead to 4-3 Omaha. Mazzaro retired the last 5 he faced, and Lebron walked 2 over the last 3 innings but finished strong to lock down his 1st AAA save of 2011. Omaha is 77-59. Game 2 is Tuesday. Mike Montgomery will start. Robinson, Johnny Giavotella and Luis Mendoza made the 2011 All-PCL team as 3 of the 12-member team. Former Omaha players Jai Miller and Victor Marte also made the team, oddly.

* The Naturals forced extras but Edgar Garcia was teeing 'em up for the Drillers. Tulsa got the first of its 6 HR with a 2-run shot in the 1st. Kendal Volz came in to strand 2 in the 3rd and the Naturals tied it on a Christian Colon RBI single and Tim Smith sac fly. Another 2-run homer helped make it 5-2 in the 6th but a Paulo Orlando single scored 2 runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to a Tulsa error. Tulsa got back-to-back homers in the 7th to make it 8-4. Colon and Smith hit RBI singles and Wil Myers hit a 2-run single to tie the game as the Naturals surged back once more. Tulsa scored a run in the 8th and Jamie Romak hit a clutch RBI double in the 9th to tie the game at 9. Garcia gave up a 3-run homer and solo homer in the 10th, however, as Tulsa drove a stake into the Naturals. The Nats stranded 1 in the 10th. The Naturals are 33-30 and their lead is only 1 game on the Drillers at this point. A 4-game home set with the Arkansas Travelers (28-35, AA Angels) starts Tuesday.

* Allen Caldwell and Cole White collaborated on a 4-hit gem Monday. Nick Van Stratten hit an RBI groundout in the 1st. Caldwell retired 9 in a row at one point but neither he nor White ever really coasted thereafter. They got the job done, tho. Yem Prades singled in a run in the 8th but the Rocks left the bases full. The pitching made that a moot point, however. Wilmington is 27-36. Game 2 is Tuesday. Tim Melville will start. Carlo Testa was named Carolina Lg Player of the Week for Aug 22-28. He hit .476 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in the week.

* The Cougars put together a 4-run 8th to get a nice comeback win on Monday. Kane County loaded the bases with 0 out in the 2nd but only got a Cheslor Cuthbert RBI walk. Peoria tied it in the 3rd, then took the lead in the 4th. The 2-1 lead held into the 8th, when the Cougars loaded the bases with 2 outs and Jake Kuebler ripped a 3-run triple and scored on an error on the play. Chase Boruff walked in a run and allowed another run to score before leaving the tying run at third in the 9th. KC is 34-29. Leondy Perez starts the series finale Tuesday.

* A seesaw game went the way of the Cardinals, as usual. Lane Adams was thrown out at the plate in a busy but fruitless Royals 1st, and Angel Baez allowed a Johnson City run. The Royals took the lead on a 2-run homer by Jorge Bonifacio (his 7th) in the 4th, but the Cards tied it off Baez in the inning. Adrian Bringas doubled and scored on a Derek Hamblen groundout in the 5th but the Cards scored 2 that inning thanks in part to 3 Royal errors. Cameron Conner led off the 6th with his 2nd homer to retie it but the Cards scored the go-ahead run in the 7th and made it stick that time. The B-Royals are 24-43. They finish the season Tuesday.

* The Royals ended the season in style by pounding the Mariners Monday. D'Andre Toney led off the 1st with a triple, scored on a Carlos Garcia single, and Travis Lane singled in Garcia to make it 2-0 Royals. Toney came back up in the 3rd and slammed a 2-run homer (his 5th) to make it 4-0. Clayton Schulz allowed a run in the 4th but Brian Gaylord hit an RBI groundout in the 4th to keep the 4-run lead intact. The M's scored a run in the 7th but the Royals put the game away that inning with 4 runs on a Gaylord RBI double, Toney RBI single, and 2-run Nick Cuckovich double. Casey Edelbrock retired all 6 he faced. The Royals finished the season 22-34 and 16 games back of the Rangers. The final stat rehash will come tomorrow.